The good:
The bad:
The ugly:
- The great performance from Sammy Davis, who has such screen presence and exudes cool. Cicely Tyson (RIP!) is good in this too.
- The jazz soundtrack, with performances from Louis Armstrong and Mel Torme, who were both a treat to see.
- The spotlight on racism in society and in the police force, and in a minor key, allusions to the tension between passive nonviolence and fighting back in reaction to it.
The bad:
- Davis's character is unlikeable. He's been traumatized but is a complete jerk to everyone around him, and I think we're meant to have the same reaction as the other characters, which is to forgive him because he's so talented.
- The plot is melodramatic and lacks creative focus. It's too bad it kept going back to Davis imploding instead of other more interesting things.
The ugly:
- The treatment of Tyson's character. I hated how she succumbed to Davis after he forces himself on her, failing the first time and succeeding the second (just keep assaulting 'em fellas, and they'll give in). She forgives his bad behavior like a saint, and in one nausea-inducing moment, blames herself for having softened him too much by telling him to behave better. Ugh.